When the first teaser trailer hit last November for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the world fell in love with BB-8, a small rolling droid that looks like the lovechild of R2-D2 and a beachball. While many assumed it was a clever robot concept brought to life with CGI, it turned out that wasn’t the case at all. According to those working on the actual movie, BB-8 could roll in real life just like in the trailer. This only served to make BB-8 even more interesting, but like many fantastic things, I needed to see it to believe it. Well, last week I did see it as BB-8 rolled right out on stage during a panel at the massive Star Wars Celebration event in Anaheim. If you somehow haven’t seen it yet, watch it, it’s magical, and the crowd (rightfully) goes nuts for the little guy.
Well, what if I told you that come this holiday season you could have your very own little BB-8 toy? You’d crap your pants, right? Oh, that was just me? Well, anyway, yes BB-8 will be a real toy according to a new teaser image and it’s being made by the folks who make Sphero, the robotic ball you can control with your mobile device.
Going a bit deeper, The New York Times has the story of how the folks at Star Wars-owner Disney were able to hook up with the small Colorado start-up that produces Sphero, and it’s a fascinating story. As it turns out, had Sphero not gotten involved BB-8 still wouldn’t have been CGI but it would have been a mock-up robot pushed around by a real person, who would subsequently be airbrushed out of the movie. That’s definitely not as cool as a real rolling robot, amirite?
No word on pricing or release date just yet, but if these suckers weren’t out in or around the time of the movie’s launch this December I’d be surprised. For more information you can sign up for the mailing list at the teaser site.
